The day after the Hawks had clinched the National League South title in such dramatic, emotionally draining, and euphoria-inducing style, the Many Shades of Grey went to the Graveyard of Dreams to tread the very turf that Dartford’s players and fans had so disappointedly trudged off only some 19 hours earlier. Yes, Nyewood Lane was hosting Bognor’s first festival. Two mini-leagues, each team having five matches of 2x 8 minutes, followed by a knock-out phase of 2x 10 minute matches to decide some trophies at the end.

It has to be said that the Many Shades were slow out of their blocks. Following the previous evenings celebrations, there were some, shall we call them “cobwebs”, still to be dusted off. So it was that we lost 1-0 to Brighton Dolphins in a match that we were actually quite competitive in. Next up were Tadley Statin Strollers, and we kind of woke up a little for that one, but only after going 2-0 down. An opportunistic Stew Russell goal, followed by a great Pete Dolamore thunderbolt dragged us back into the game, but sadly Tadley ran out 4-2 winners.

Next we found ourselves up against the might of Emsworth & Hayling’s first choice team, but because we know their strengths we were able to put on a solid and well-organised team performance, and held them to a 0-0 draw.

Our fourth game was against Retro Rangers, who somehow beat us 2-1, a Bobby De Ste Croix finish giving us some hope. If we couldn’t understand how we had failed to win a game so far, our perplexity only increased as our final league game against Gosport Civil Service unfolded. With one shot on target from their only worthwhile attack, Gosport somehow held on for a 1-0 win. That put us firmly at the bottom of our league, which meant that we won the booby prize - a stick of Bognor Rock each! To prove that football really is a funny old game, our draw against Emsworth was not only the only point we got, it was the only game they didn’t win!

For the next phase we were entered in the “Silver Cup” competition, against the lower finishers of the two leagues. We were drawn against the second-bottom side from the other league. It seems harsh that our hosts, Bognor Regis Boulders, should be the victims of the single most ruthless and dominant performance ever by a Many Shades side. Somehow this bunch of losers finally shook off those cobwebs, and walked away with a stunning, shocking, ridiculous 10-0 victory. Hat-tricks apiece from Pete Brown, James McIlwaine, and Bobby De Ste Croix, all topped off with a really unfortunate own-goal, gave us our record win.

The plate final was against Tadley Statin Strollers, and after our earlier somewhat shambolic defeat to them, we were determined to carry our new-found form into this game. And for once, we did. It finished a fairly comfortable win, with two goals each from Bobby and James earning us a 4-1 victory and the “Silver Cup”.

So, there was some redemption, and the squad that earned your Many Shades that record win and somewhat unusual silver trophy was Colin Jeffery (g), Barry Ingram, Pete Dolamore, Stew Russell, Jeff Pickering, Pete Brown, James McIlwaine, Bobby De Ste Croix, and John Hicks.

Congratulations to Jeff Pickering who now joins the exclusive 100-club along side Stew Russell and Pete Dolamore by reaching his century of appearances. Next up should be Barry Ingram, right now sitting on a tantalising 99, followed by Rich Bishop who is currently on 96.